


Chasing Ben Wyatt

by SakuraBlossomStorm



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-10-29 23:56:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10864785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraBlossomStorm/pseuds/SakuraBlossomStorm
Summary: Leslie’s heart stopped. She tried to search Ben’s face for answers, anything to explain what he had just said.“What?”“I’m going back on the road,” Ben repeated. “I’m sorry, Leslie.”Ben turns down the Assistant City Manager job, leaving Leslie confused and hurt. So she embarks on a road trip to find him and admit her feelings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A fun little idea I concocted. This will be a three part story. I hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated and really make me happy.

Something told her that he was going to stay.

A feeling deep down in her gut. A tiny sweeping sensation in her lower belly that made her think he wouldn’t go back to his old job and stay here. 

But Leslie gave Ben her advice; there was nothing more she could do, and could only hope that he’d consider the better option. Staying in Pawnee meant that he didn’t have to move around as much, and he could actually stay in a town that liked him. He’d have a better job. It was win-win.

Plus, she wasn’t done with him. Ever since the Harvest Festival, they were been closer than ever. It was hard to believe that she was calling him a jerk only three months ago.

She wanted to go to JJ’s with him for friendly waffles and coffee, and she wanted to drink wine with him at Tucker’s. She wanted to spend late nights with him at the office with a box takeout between them as they poured over some spreadsheet or another. She wanted to accidently touch his hand when reaching for a pen and have Ben give her a sly smile, as if he liked it.

Leslie wasn’t going to worry. Ben was smart; he’d make the right decision soon enough. 

~~

Ben sucked in air as he walked back to Chris’s office; he’d been residing there until he had a proper place to go.

He would have to leave in only a few weeks time. If he didn’t take this job, then Chris would be keen to get another body in to replace him. 

He could tell that Leslie wanted him to stay. As soon as he brought up the idea of leaving, he saw her face fall. She tried to remain neutral and told him to make a pros and cons list. But Ben could see it in her eyes, the hurt; she didn’t want him to go.

Right now, he was leaning towards not leaving. The past few months had been some of the best in his career. Seeing the Harvest Festival bloom into something magnificent just took his breath away. And knowing that he had a small part in it, filled him with pride. 

And Leslie. He’d never find anyone as hard working or dedicated as her again. Her positivity and drive made him want to stay just to soak it all up. If he on the road again, he would continue slashing budgets and making enemies. Sure, doing that was the reason he met Leslie. But she hated him at first and made that quite clear.

He didn’t want to have to go through the whole enemies to friends thing again.

Ben traced patterns into the wood lining of the door to Chris’s office. He had Leslie’s opinion, and now he needed his best friend’s. 

“Chris,” Ben said as he walked in. “I need to talk to you about something.”

~~

Leslie wasn’t sure if it was April and Andy’s impromptu wedding that made her mind switch from neutral and waiting for Ben to make the right choice, to full-on wanting to go up to him and demand that he stay, but something clicked at the wedding. Every time she clocked eyes with him, she realised that she couldn’t imagine life without him.

Ben needed to know how much she wanted him to stay.

And her chance soon came as Ben walked over to her, a soft smile across his lips and a cold beer in his hands.

“Hey.”

“You should stay,” Leslie said, not giving him the chance to say anything else. “Don’t go back to Indianapolis.”

Ben pursed his lips.

“It’s a great city here, y’know? And there are great people,” Leslie continued. “And you’ve made lots of friends. And what are you going to do? Go back to your old job and hack up people’s budgets? Stay here. Help us build something.”

“I turned down the job,” Ben cut in.

Leslie’s heart stopped. She tried to search Ben’s face for answers, anything to explain what he had just said.

“What?”

“I’m going back on the road,” Ben repeated. “I’m sorry, Leslie.”

Leslie was speechless. She tried to say something, anything to beg him to stay. But all she could do was look at her hands and try not to cry in front of everyone.

“Oh,” she finally managed to choke out. “Ok.”

There was a sudden tension in the air that Leslie couldn’t stand to be in. She ran her hands along the side of her hips and cleared her throat. “I have to go… um…to the bathroom…Whizz Palace,” she mumbled, quickly scurrying past Ben and out of the room before he could say anything else.

As soon as she reached April and Andy’s dirty bathroom, she collapsed onto the toilet seat, head in her hands as she sobbed.

~~

It didn’t take long.

Ben handed in his two weeks notice, and soon his job was advertised on the government website. Leslie walked past Chris’s office several times and saw people coming and going for an interview for the position.

She tried to avoid Ben as much as she could. But one day it all became too real as she walked into Chris’s office with Ron and passed Ben’s desk. There were boxes everywhere, all neatly labelled and filled with his belongings.

Sadness quickly turned to anger. Leslie found herself hating Ben once again. How could he do this? How could he leave the greatest city in America? How could he leave his friends and a well paying job? How could he leave _her?_

She thought they had a connection. Something that sparked after the Harvest Festival. Their work relationship soon turned into something beautiful, and they spent more and more time together. But Ben leaving was like a knife to the gut, telling her that she wasn’t good enough for him, and the appeal of going back on the road rather than spending time with her won.

The worst of it was his leaving party.

Chris had organised a huge gathering in the courtyard and invited every member of every department to say goodbye. A good number of people turned up, though Leslie suspected many of them had come for the free food. Ben wasn’t exactly leaving City Hall as one of the most popular employees.

He could have redeemed himself, Leslie thought. If he took the City Manager position, he could have helped all the departments, protecting them from other auditors.

Leslie hovered around Ann for most of the night. Thankfully, she was still a little sore over her break-up with Chris and was telling Leslie about her awkward date following one of the single mixers she went to.

She tried to avoid Ben during this as well. She went as far as striking up a conversation with Sewage Joe, which lasted for approximately 30 seconds before she became so repulsed that she had to leave.

That’s when he caught her.

“Hey,” Ben said, shifting the beer bottle in his hands.

“Hi,” Leslie mumbled, trying to look anywhere but into Ben’s chocolate coloured eyes.

“I was wondering if we could talk? Maybe get away from here for a bit?” Ben asked, licking his lips nervously.

Leslie swallowed. “Okay, sure,” she said, and she followed Ben away from the party. On the way, she made sure to refill her wine glass, taking a huge swig in the process. If this was going to be a farewell speech from him, she certainly needed Dutch courage. 

She knew where they were going without having to ask. Up the stairs and to the wildflower mural. She’d done this walk so many times. It was her favourite place in City Hall, after all. She hoped that one day she would be able to take Ben here and kiss him for the first time.

He must have discovered the mural himself.

Ben paused and ran his hands down the sides of his slacks. “Look, I just wanted to make sure before I go that there’s no bad blood between us.”

Leslie gulped down more of her wine. “Well. I’m not impressed that you are leaving.”

“I know, and I get that,” Ben said, and Leslie noticed that he was blinking far too much. “But there’s a reason why. And –”

“You don’t have to say it, Ben. Quite frankly, I don’t care why you’re leaving,” Leslie snapped bitterly. She folded her arms, and the wine sloshed everywhere, but she didn’t care. She was too angry right now to bother with that.

“I thought we had something special here. You helped us with the Harvest Festival even though you didn’t believe in my department or me. And now you’re just taking off? Going to another town to slash up more budgets? It doesn’t make sense, Ben. You have a good job here, so many prospects. But clearly there’s something so important for you to up and go and forget about us.”

“I’ll never forget about you. This is a special town, I know it is. But I have to go because –” Ben tried again, but Leslie held her hand up.

“Save it. I’ve heard it all before,” Leslie snapped. “There’s probably a girl in Snerling or somewhere. I really don’t care, Ben. But do you know what? I wish that you never came here at all. I knew you were a jerk the day you walked in, and you used some sort of weird trick and your flat butt to make me like you.”

She paused. Really, this wasn’t the time to think of his butt. But she was just so frustrated and angry that it came out. Ben had tricked her. Made her believe that she could possibly grow to care for someone enough to build a loving relationship, only for him to gut her dreams with a machete. Ironically, it was the same thing he’d done to the Parks Department budget.

Leslie could feel herself shaking in anger. She looked back up at Ben, who was staring back at her, a horrified look on his face.

“Well. I think I’ve said my piece,” Leslie finished with an exhale and turned on her heel, leaving Ben alone at the mural

~~

He left the next week.

Leslie saw him walk to his car, carrying a box with the last of his possessions. She didn’t say goodbye, not after what happened at his leaving party. She couldn’t. She was too embarrassed about her outburst. 

After that night, the realisation sunk in. She wasn’t mad at Ben; she was frustrated at the situation. She didn’t understand how he could just up and leave without explaining to her why. He tried to tell her that night, but, by then Leslie had been left in the unknown, trying to figure out if it was something she’d done or if he was just going back to Indianapolis to return to an old flame.

She was probably called Rebecca… And she was stupidly hot.

He had his chances to explain to her, and he didn’t. That was the source of her anger. Yes, him leaving in general made her mad, but people moved on and left all the time. It was just something she needed to get used to. 

What Leslie hated was that she felt something, a spark burst inside her when she pulled him into a hug when he turned up unexpectedly at the Harvest Festival. You don’t hug friends like that. He held her tightly, his breath tickling the side of her neck. No, there was something to that and something she wanted to explore.

But now she’d never know if it was anything at all. It was over before it begun.

Leslie looked back out to the parking lot. There he was, climbing into his Saturn, not giving the building a second look as he drove away.

And, just like that, he was out of Leslie’s life.

~~

“You need to get back out there,” Ann said as she cleaned a small patch of skin on Leslie’s arm for her cholesterol test. “Maybe try online dating or something? I’m having so much fun just dating a bunch of people.”

“I don’t know if that’s for me,” Leslie admitted, wincing and hissing as Ann prepped her arm for the test. Ann rolled her eyes; the needle was nowhere near her.

“Look, Ben’s long gone. You need to get back on the horse and stop chasing something that’s never going to happen. I’ll help you make a profile. It’ll be fun,” Ann said as she held the needle steady.

Leslie sighed. The idea of internet dating never appealed to her. What if she got set up with a creep and couldn’t escape the date? Not to mention that she hated first dates, so meeting someone online and then meeting them face to face didn’t fill her with much confidence. 

But Ann was right. Ben was long gone. He was in Snerling now. She knew that that because of Chris’s incessant updates on how his buddy was doing.

Maybe it would be a good idea to find something new and do what Ann was doing. Dating could be fun for a while, and she could find someone that would make her forget all about stupid Ben and his giant hair and flat, perfect butt.

Leslie was so distracted that she didn’t notice Ann jab the needle into her arm, resulting in Leslie screaming and accidentally swearing at Ann.

~~

Internet dating did _not_ work out.

It matched her with Tom. _Tom_ of all people. Leslie was so disgusted once the page loaded and showed her who her soulmate was be that she called up the helpline and shouted at the owner until she was blue in the face.

Tom wasn’t her type. And, needless to say, she wasn’t exactly his type either after knowing his history with girls like Wendy and Lucy.

But that still didn’t stop her from asking him out to lunch.

He soon caught on and thought it was hilarious. So much so that he started going on with it. He started using his smarmy pick up lines on her and started calling her boo.

It made Leslie’s skin crawl.

It reached a boiling point when Tom announced that having sex with Leslie was a great way to stay fit during a meeting. She dragged him out of the room and to finally shut him up, kissed him.

Sure enough, it silenced him, and there were no more talks of sleeping together or dating, but at that moment, Chris had turned the corner and saw them kiss.

“Leslie?” he said, shocked. 

Leslie tried to pull the fire alarm to get out of the situation, but soon realised it was broken.

They should probably get that fixed.

~~

Chris ordered Leslie into his office, and she sat awkwardly in the seat near him, trying to plead her case.

“It was a joke,” she insisted. “I can assure you. There is nothing romantic going on between me and Tom.”

Chris sighed. “I have a strict policy. No office relationships, particularly between a supervisor and an employee.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” Leslie cut in, and relayed everything that had happened over the past week to Chris. She told him about the dating website, about how Tom was just teasing her and neither of them had any actual feelings for each other, and how the kiss was to shut him up.

“Look, I probably shouldn’t have acted on what that stupid website said. But I’ve been feeling a little…low recently with my love life, so thought I’d try it out,” Leslie mumbled. She would’ve liked to carry on the day without telling Chris about her love life, but it was just to make sure that she didn’t get into any more trouble.

Chris listened to her and titled his head. “I understand. We’ve all been there. But don’t worry; you’ll meet someone in the strangest of places. I should set you up with George Laurel. He works at the gym I go to in Bloomington. He is _extremely_ good looking.”

Leslie paused. “I think I’m okay for the moment. This whole experience kinda put me off. I think I’ll just wait for the right time.”

Chris nodded. “As long as you don’t date anyone in City Hall, then you’ll be fine. It’s a rule that applies to everyone.”

He then grew solemn and sat down in the chair next to Leslie.

“Since we’re having an honest conversation, that’s actually the reason Ben left.”

Leslie’s eyes widened. “He left because of that rule?”

“After I offered him the Assistant City manager job, he asked if he could pursue a relationship with someone in City Hall. And I said ‘I’m sorry, Ben. But that’s not possible.’ Then he went quiet and said thank you for the offer but the answer is no.” Chris sighed. 

Leslie’s eyes were nearly bulging out of her skull. “Did… Did he say who it was?”

“I asked before he left, but he said that it didn’t matter anymore. To this day, I still don’t know. Boy. Girl. It could have been anyone,” Chris said sadly. “Whoever it was must have been pretty special for him to pass up on this chance just to start a relationship.”

“You still speak to him though, right?” Leslie said, leaning towards Chris. “Is he in a relationship now?”

Chris shook his head. “He is still single. I’m assuming things didn’t work out as well as he thought.”

Leslie felt sick with guilt as everything finally fell into place. The day of his leaving party when Ben took her up to the wallflower mural, that was to tell her that he quit for her.

Then she remembered all of the horrible things she’d said to him, and a surge of guilt pulsed through her.

“Oh boy,” she mumbled so quietly that Chris didn’t hear her.

~~

Leslie walked boldly back to the Parks Department after her meeting with Chris. There, she stormed straight into Ron’s office, who greeted her with his usual steely cold glare.

“Ron, I need to take the rest of the week off,” Leslie said bluntly, and Ron grunted.

“It’s Monday. The week just started.”

“I know. But there’s something that I need to do. And I need the week off,” Leslie said again, her confidence not faltering, even as Ron’s eyebrows dropped, and he scowled at her.

“Can I ask why?” he asked.

“It’s for a declaration of love,” Leslie said, holding her head so high that she was sure she had grown about two inches taller.

Ron sighed. “As long as you aren’t going for another nooner. I’ll sign it off.”

“Well I’ll be leaving tomorrow at noon, so I guess you could put it down as a nooner.”

Ron blinked. “You need to look up what a nooner is. But whatever. Do what you want. I don’t care.”

“Thank you,” Leslie exhaled happily, and hurried out of his office.

~~

“Are you sure about this?” Ann asked as she watched Leslie pack her belongings into a small suitcase.

“Absolutely,” Leslie replied. “I have to go and find Ben. I need to tell him that I’m sorry for everything, and I understand now why he had to leave.”

Leslie’d left Ann a garbled message on her phone, telling her that she was leaving for a week. Leaving to drive to Snerling to find Ben and tell him that she loved him and was sorry about everything.

Ann had hurried over to offer words of advice. Words that went through one of Leslie’s ears and out of the other.

“You don’t even know where he is,” Ann said as she watched Leslie stuff about eight pairs of socks into her case.

“Snerling City Hall, obviously. Where else would he be? He’d be auditing there,” Leslie explained. 

“But even after all that, are you sure that he’ll even want to start dating you?” Ann asked. “I don’t know. As much as I really wanted you both to get together, you did call him a jerk and told him you never wanted to see him again.”

“Yes. Yes, technically that did happen,” Leslie countered. “But at the time I didn’t understand him. Look, maybe if he just came out with it at the beginning and said ‘hey, Leslie. I’m leaving Pawnee because if I stay here that means I can’t date you, so I’m quitting my job, and now we can go on dates and cuddle and watch History Channel documentaries’ then I wouldn’t have snapped.”

She gave up on folding a sweater neatly and stuffed it into a spare corner of her case. “We really had something special. And the thought of not knowing what could have been kills me. I’ve tried to move on and date other people, and that went horribly. Which makes me think even more so that I should give this a second chance. I don’t know what will happen. I might get there, and he’ll be this hotshot state auditor with girls on rotation and not want anything to do with me. And if that’s the case, then I can deal with it. I just need closure and put an end to the what ifs.”

Leslie crossed the room and gripped the top of Ann’s arms. “He has to know how I really feel. Even if I did call him a jerk. I didn’t mean to, but it’s done and I can’t take it back. The best I can do is just… hope that he’s willing to forgive me. You could come with me if you’re worried.”

Ann smiled sadly. “I really would like to, but the hospital is so busy at the moment. Plus, I think if you are really serious about doing this then you should do it on your own. Just please be careful, and keep me updated.”

Leslie nodded. “Of course I will. And thank you for being so supportive, you smart, wonderful wildebeest.”

Ann smiled at her compliment. “Make sure you call me in the morning to let me know when you leave.”

Leslie nodded. “I will.” And, with a quick wave goodbye, Ann left.

Taking a deep breath, Leslie sat down next to her suitcase. Tomorrow she would be driving an hour and a half to Snerling, to find Ben and to tell him that she was sorry.

She just hoped that he’d listen to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is here! There's only one more to go.
> 
> As always, a huge thank you goes to my amazing betas - the lovely Supervanillabear31 and Benjis-cool-times. You are both awesome! 
> 
> Please remember to comment and kudos. Those little things can really make a fic writer's day.

Leslie left at midday to drive to Snerling, but not before making an unscheduled pit stop at JJ’s to fill up on waffles before the long journey. 

She’d loaded her car with enough snacks to last a month and at least five mix CDs, all laced with songs about apologising. It would only take forty minutes to drive to Snerling, but she was anxious, and that seemed to add five extra hours on her driving time. 

She planned what she would say to Ben about everything and how she’d beg for his forgiveness, but then what? Would he push her up against the wall and kiss her until she was desperate for air? That would be great, sure, but she had a feeling she’d have to work for it.

Buildings soon turned to fields as Leslie sped along the highway, her thoughts still pinning together possible scenarios of her grand reunion with Ben. What if he told her he wasn’t interested anymore? What if he’d gotten married and had five babies since the last time he saw her?

No. That wasn’t possible. He’d only been gone for a month. 

She sighed. Maybe Ann was right about rushing into this. So much could go wrong, and she’d end up looking stupid.

Leslie shook her head. No, she couldn’t think like that. Things were going to go fantastically, and Ben would be thrilled to see her.

A road sign passed on her left that caught her attention. Snerling was only 5 miles away. She was practically there and would soon be in the presence of Ben once again.

~~

One thing Leslie had heard about Snerling was that the cows outnumbered the people 40 to 1. She used to think that was crazy, until she saw it for herself.

Everywhere she looked, there were cows. There were just fields everywhere with cattle grazing. It was basically one giant farm, but the air didn’t smell like animal dung. It smelled fresh and clean. And not like the slight scent of caramel that Pawnee had.

She soon found Snerling’s City Hall and parked next to a field. She let go of the steering wheel and sighed deeply.

“You can do this,” she told herself. “It’s fine. Just go in there and tell him you’re sorry and that you miss him. He’ll have to come back. He has to.”

She inhaled and closed her eyes. She had to be calm and confident. When she opened them, she saw a black and white cow eyeing her suspiciously, causing Leslie to hurry out of her car in record time.

She’d have to add cows to her list of condescending animals now. 

Snerling’s City Hall was far cleaner than Pawnee’s, and everyone was so cheery. They even had an apple tree growing in their courtyard. It was nice little touches like that which made Leslie feel at home.

Then she saw a vegetable patch next to the tree, and she knew she had to get Ben out of there fast.

“I’m looking for Ben Wyatt,” Leslie said anxiously as she leaned on the counter. “He’s here auditing… At least I think he is.”

The receptionist looked down at her computer with a disgruntled look on her face. It looked like Ben was making just as many friends here as he did in Pawnee. “He’s on the fifth floor. But he’s in a budget meeting right now so he might not be available. Can I ask you to wait here until he’s done?”

Leslie frowned. She didn’t give herself a pep talk in the car just to be told to wait until he was done. No. Leslie Knope was going to wait for no man.

“Actually I’m his work colleague… Minnie Auditinoli,” Leslie winced. As far as fake names go, that was terrible.

“Minnie Auditinoli?” the receptionist repeated with her eyebrow raised.

Leslie swallowed and nodded. “Yes. Auditing is in my name and it’s in my blood. Now, if you would kindly let me pass, then I can go and deliver my message to Ben about auditing, and then he can go back to…auditing and I… Minnie Auditinoli, will be on my way.”

She was sure that the receptionist would call security on her to take her away. There was no way that she’d believe that blatant lie. But to her amazement, the receptionist handed over a pass and let her through the electronic gate.

Leslie practically jumped for joy as she hurried towards the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. This was it. Just a short ride later and she’d be there. She could practically see Ben’s stupid surprise face already.

The elevator dinged open, and Leslie hurried out. She scanned through the windows of meeting rooms, hoping to get a glimpse of his wild hair, and then she saw it.

There he was. Ben Wyatt in the flesh. It looked like he was leading a budget meeting. He had up a presentation on the screen that looked similar to the ones Leslie sat through back when Pawnee was in trouble.

Did she dare to burst in? No, she couldn’t, not when he was so busy and looked so efficient. She reversed the roles and thought about how annoyed she’d be if Ben stormed into a very important meeting that she was leading.

It’d be romantic, sure, but annoying nonetheless.

Instead, she hovered outside and pretended to be on the phone when anyone walked past. She finally saw movement in the room and shoved her phone back into her bag. They were taking a break; now would be the perfect time to talk to him.

The door opened, and Leslie stood back to let the employees of Snerling City Hall out. She could hear them grumbling to each other about budget cuts in their department, and she couldn’t help but smirk.

The last few finally left the room, and she walked in briskly. Ben didn’t see her come in; he was leaning over, staring at his laptop screen.

Leslie took a deep breath and cleared her throat to get his attention. She saw Ben’s nose twitch as he glanced up at her.

It took him few seconds to react. He stared at her and then straightened up immediately.

“Leslie?” He gawked at her. “What are you doing here?”

“Chris told me why you quit,” Leslie burst out, clasping her hands together nervously. “He told me everything. That you liked someone at City Hall and quit because you couldn’t be in a relationship with them. That was me, wasn’t it? God, Ben. I was such a jerk to you, and I’m so sorry. But I’ve come to tell you that I feel the same way. I really like you, Ben. And I can’t stop thinking about you. So come on, let’s just forget about what happened and go get waffles and decide what we want to do?”

She smiled at him hopefully, but Ben’s eyes were wide with shock. He was about to speak when the door opened. 

They both turned to see a tall, skinny brunette walk in. She spotted Leslie and looked anxiously between her and Ben.

“I was going to get a coffee. Do you want one?” the woman asked.

“Uh… no I’m good, thanks,” Ben replied and nervously cleared his throat. “Leslie, this is my auditing partner, Rebecca. Rebecca, this is Leslie, she’s a…. friend.”

Rebecca gave Leslie a curt nod, and Leslie just stared back at her, almost hypnotised by her long legs and silky hair. She was like Wonder Woman.

And of course her name was Rebecca.

Rebecca called over her shoulder that she’d be back in five and exited the room, leaving them both alone again. Leslie looked back at Ben, her heart pounding in her ears. She couldn’t shake her sudden nervousness. She’d felt so confident before walking in, and now she felt pathetic.

“You came all the way here to tell me that?” Ben asked, running a hand through his wild hair.

Leslie nodded. “I took a week off work. I was hoping that we could try and fix what we had.”

“We never had anything,” Ben snapped quickly. “Leslie, I tried to tell you how I felt the day of my leaving party, and you threw everything back in my face. How do you think that made me feel? I’ve spent the past month trying to forget about you, and then suddenly you just come back into my life, expecting me to forgive you?”

Leslie took a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry, Ben.”

Ben closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you staying close by?”

“I was going to check into a hotel or something,” Leslie explained. She hadn’t really thought that part through. She hoped that she’d get a cute bed and breakfast or somewhere. 

Ben fished a hand into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. With trembling fingers, he pulled one off and handed it to Leslie.

“Here’s a key to my apartment. I finish here at 5. I’ll meet you back there. Got it?” Ben said sternly, and Leslie nodded.

Ben grabbed a scrap of paper and scribbled an address down. “Here, it’s not far.”

Leslie took the paper and folded it up. Her insides were churning as Ben looked back down at his laptop, like she wasn’t even in the room anymore.

“Ben-”

“I’ll talk to you later,” he grunted. “I’m working right now.”

Leslie managed a nod and hurried out of the room before he could see her tears.

~~

Leslie sat awkwardly in Ben’s apartment, waiting for him to return. She’d made herself a cup of coffee to keep herself occupied as she studied the living room.

When Ben stayed in Pawnee, he’d been shelled up in the Pawnee Super Suites Motel. It wasn’t exactly the greatest place to stay, especially for a long as Ben had. She was happy to see that he was somewhere more substantial.

His apartment in Snerling was small, but charming. The furniture didn’t look like his. In fact Leslie could see no hints that Ben had tried to make this apartment his own. It was just a rental, and soon he’d be back on the road, living in some other apartment that wasn’t his.

Did he like all this moving around? Leslie was sure that she’d hate it. She could maybe do a couple nights away in a hotel, but she’d always want to come back to Pawnee. She didn’t know how Ben did it. Did he want to give it all up and settle down somewhere, or did he actually like moving around.

Leslie sighed. There were no signs of any flowers or anything. She vowed to go into the town tomorrow and get him a green, leafy plant. Something like a ficus would brighten up the place.

One thing she noticed when she saw him was that he didn’t look happy. Sure, it might’ve been because she walked in unannounced. But even as she watched him through the window to the meeting room, he looked exhausted and miserable, like he was ready to give up.

The sound of the door opening made Leslie jump. She looked over and saw Ben walking into his apartment. He didn’t make eye contact with her as he walked across to the kitchen island. There, Ben pulled off his tie and grabbed a beer from his fridge. 

He popped the top off and took a swig, then sighed and looked in Leslie’s direction. She felt her cheeks grew hot as he finally made eye contact with her.

Ben didn’t offer her a drink; he just stared at her.

Leslie cleared her throat. “Are we going to talk? Or are you just going to stand there glaring at me?”

Ben scoffed. “I’m just trying to figure out what the fuck to do. You can’t just turn up at my job, expecting me to drop everything and go with you. What did you really expect me to do, Leslie?”

“I don’t know, okay?” Leslie snapped, getting up. “I had no idea that you were going to confess your love for me that night, and when I found out, I was just so shocked, because I really liked you too… and I thought that we could maybe try again.”

“And then what?” Ben asked. “I’d just move back to Pawnee? Things aren’t that simple. I could’ve taken that job with Chris, but I thought we had a life together. I thought that if I passed on it, we could have figured something out, but… you really hurt me, Leslie. And it took me a while to get over you.”

Leslie gnawed at her lip. “Are you with someone else?”

Ben looked away. “I had a rebound fling with this girl I met at a bar… I took her back here, but nothing happened. I couldn’t go through with it.” He let out a low laugh. “Guess I still wasn’t over you.”

Every time he mentioned about not being over her, Leslie’s heart sank lower. Things could have worked out so different if she’d just listened to him that night.

“I had a fling too,” Leslie said, leaning against his couch. “With Tom.”

“Tom?” Ben spluttered. “Tom Haverford?”

“The one and only,” Leslie said smirking. “It was nothing. Ann convinced me to try online dating and this website hooked us up. I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea, but we went on a date. He found out and made it into a big joke and pretended to be super into me. To shut him up, I kissed him.”

Ben wrinkled his nose. “How was that for you?”

“He has a weirdly feminine mouth,” Leslie mumbled, and Ben laughed. It reminded her of when they were friends and would high five each other and act stupid.

Leslie took a deep breath. “I can’t excuse my behaviour that night. I was upset and a little drunk. But I really didn’t mean any of it. If I could turn back time, I’d go back to that night and keep my big mouth shut.”

The corners of Ben’s mouth twitched. “Are you about to start singing Cher at me?”

Leslie giggled. “If that would make you happy?”

Ben sighed, and his head lolled back. “I really don’t know what to say, Leslie. I’m annoyed at you, but at the same time, I’m not, because you’ve made the effort to come all the way here. It’s just a little too late. I swore to myself that I’d forget about you and move on.”

“You don’t have to,” Leslie cut in. “Look, you said you liked me. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get you out of my head. I have a week off of work. Why don’t we just spend time together, and then maybe you’d remember all the fun we had before you left and we can work through this?”

Ben pursed his lips. “I don’t think I have a choice. You haven’t got a hotel to stay at, so you can stay here.”

Leslie immediately brightened. “Are you sure that’s ok? I don’t want to turf you out.”

“It’s fine,” Ben said through a breathy sigh. “I’ll take the couch. It’s not like it’s lumpy or anything.”

Leslie couldn’t help but note the sarcasm in his voice. And she knew that she had a lot of work to do to mend their relationship.

For now, she just nodded thanks at Ben and promised to make this up to him during their week together.

~~

Leslie woke up the next morning in Ben’s bed, feeling fresh and ready to start her mission to get Ben to forgive her. She’d seen a glimmer of their old relationship last night and wanted to work on that. She could still make Ben laugh, so at least she had that going.

She trudged into the lounge with a yawn, fully expecting to see Ben still there, considering that it was still pretty early. But instead she was greeted with a comforter neatly folded on the couch and a note on the coffee table. He’d gone to work early, but he did leave a detailed description on how to get to a waffle place nearby. He was still annoyed; Leslie could tell judging by the lack of kisses and overly aggressive full stops.

After a morning filled with waffles that were nowhere as good as JJ’s, Leslie went shopping with Ben in mind. She got him a plant. It was a peace lily. She thought the name was fitting.

As well as that, she purchased some blue decorative cushions for his bed and couch, a fluffy cream rug, and she even found a cool looking vintage Star Wars poster that she couldn’t resist.

When Ben came home that evening, he dropped his keys in shock as he looked around his apartment.

“Good lord.”

“Hi!” Leslie said excitedly as she came from out of his bedroom. “What do you think?”

Ben looked around open mouthed at his apartment. He never considered making it homey, especially since he was only going to be here for a few months, but Leslie had gone above and beyond. There were scented candles getting rid of that weird mildew smell, throw pillows, plants, a new lamp. Everything just seemed to brighten up the place.

He was drawn to the Star Wars artwork on the wall and walked over to inspect it.

“I thought you’d like that,” Leslie said proudly.

Ben hummed in approval. “You know I’m not actually supposed to put anything on the walls. It was in my contract when I rented this place.”

Leslie turned an embarrassed red. “Oh god. Ben, I’m so sorry; I didn’t know. I’ll pay for the damage.”

She went to take it off, but Ben stopped her. “No I like it. It’s not like the landlord is coming over any time soon anyway.”

He gave the faintest smile to Leslie and then walked over to the couch to admire the new cushions.

Leslie couldn’t help but fist pump. It was a small victory, and she’d take it.

~~

The next night, Ben came back to a wonderful smell. He opened the door and saw Leslie humming a tune to herself as she pulled a calzone from the oven.

He’d been working late, so the smell made his stomach growl loudly, and Leslie looked up with a grin.

“What’s this?” Ben asked, dropping his bag to the floor and making his way to her.

“I made a calzone,” Leslie said proudly. “I mean, I know you love them so much. I’m still fully against the idea because calzones are pointless, but I think I did a good job.”

“Well it smells great,” Ben said as he tugged off his tie and grabbed a beer from the fridge. This time offering Leslie one.

“No thanks. I got some wine for dinner though?”

“Oh,” Ben said, putting the unopened beer away and pulling out a bottle of white wine instead. “Is it cool if we open this now?”

“Sure, it’s almost ready.”

Ben opened the bottle and set two glasses on his small dining table. Leslie proudly carried the calzone over and placed it in the middle. It looked pretty big and could easily feed them both.

Soon, the pair were enjoying dinner and talking about their day. Leslie wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or not, but Ben seemed relaxed. This had been the most calm she’d seen him all week.

“How do you like Snerling then?” Leslie asked as she took another bite. Okay, calzones weren’t that horrible, and she really knocked this out of the park.

“It’s ok,” Ben said, his mouth full. “People here aren’t as nice as Pawnee. And there’s a lot of cows. Have you noticed?”

Leslie nodded and chuckled. “Yeah. They’re everywhere. Is it like a thing that you have to own a cow to live here?”

“Maybe that’s why no one likes me here,” Ben mumbled. “Because I don’t have a cow.”

Leslie’s smile faded. “I’m sure people like you here. I mean, sure, your job isn’t exactly one that’ll make you friends, but you’re a nice guy.”

“Rebecca likes me, I guess,” Ben said as he took a sip of the wine, and Leslie’s heart sank.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence.

~~

Thursday night Leslie didn’t see Ben at all.

He texted her telling her that he was working late and not to worry. The night ticked on, and soon Leslie found herself getting tired. She’d spent the day crocheting a blanket for Ben to put on the end of his bed and finally dozed off around 1am.

She woke a few hours later to the smell of smoke, not the worrying kind that something was on fire, but the kind that reminded Leslie of cigarettes.

Yawning, Leslie pulled the half-finished blanket around her and walked into the living room. The doors to the balcony were open, and Ben was leaning on the railings.

“When did you get back?” Leslie asked, and Ben turned around, a cigarette hanging loosely in his fingers.

“An hour ago,” Ben said, taking a long drag and lowering the cigarette again.

Leslie frowned. “Do you smoke now?”

“Only when I’m stressed,” Ben replied quietly.

Leslie looked down at her bare feet. “Is me being here stressing you out?”

Ben thought for a moment. “You’re maybe causing like 35% of my stress right now. It’s work that takes up the rest.”

Leslie toyed with a loose curl hanging by her cheek. “What’s happening?”

“It’s fine. It’s just…” Ben sighed and took another drag. “When you’ve been doing this job for over eleven years you just start to wonder if any of it is worth it. You just make so many people miserable and angry. I took this job after college because I didn’t want to go back to Minnesota. I thought that if I took it, I’d be able to find somewhere to settle down for real. But here I am. Almost 36 and still travelling around, never making any friends or whatever. It can get lonely.”

Leslie wanted to tell him that he should’ve listened to her at April and Andy’s wedding and helped her build something. But she bit her tongue. He left because of her. 

“You should put that out; it’ll give you cancer,” she said bluntly, gesturing to the cigarette, and Ben let out a hollow laugh.

“That’s the least of my concerns right now,” he said, but he still stubbed out the cigarette. 

“It’s late,” Leslie said. “You should go to bed.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed, and Leslie stepped back inside when Ben’s voice stopped her.

“I’m not into Rebecca, just so you know.”

Leslie turned around and frowned. “Oh?”

“She likes house music and expensive sushi… She’s not for me,” Ben explained, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking back in with Leslie.

“She’s pretty though,” Leslie mumbled. “And I thought brunettes were your type.”

Ben chuckled. “Why does everyone say that? I went on one date with one brunette when I was on the road with Chris, and suddenly that’s my type?”

Leslie nudged Ben playfully and closed the door to the balcony. “You can take the bed tonight. You need a good night’s sleep.”

Ben shook his head. “No, you’re the guest. The couch is fine.”

Leslie sighed. “You’re not going to let off are you? Fine, then how about we share the bed? There’s plenty of room for the both of us.”

Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “I do miss that bed,” he groaned.

“See, it’ll be fine. Just for tonight,” Leslie said, taking Ben’s hand and leading him into the bedroom.

Leslie was already in her pyjamas, so she just crawled under the sheets. Ben, however, hovered awkwardly, considering what to wear to bed. In the end he unbuttoned his shirt and opted to sleep in his undershirt. He grabbed some pyjama bottoms and walked into the bathroom to change.

As he walked past Leslie, he stretched upwards, and she saw black ink on his side, just where his shirt rose up.

“You have a tattoo?” Leslie asked, leaning forward and hugging her knees to her chest.

“Oh, yeah I do,” Ben said, looking to his side. He pulled up the shirt more so Leslie could see. “I got it done when I was 21. I was drunk and thought it was a really good idea.”

The tattoo was small, no bigger than an egg, and Leslie recognised it immediately. She couldn’t help giggling.

“Is that the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars?” she asked as she inspected it. “It’s very…you.”

Ben traced the ink on his side. “Yeah. I didn’t want to get something that I knew I was going to definitely regret. I thought that if I did wake up with a tattoo, it would have to be Star Wars related.”

He gestured towards the bathroom, looking a little embarrassed. “I’m just going to change, and then I’ll be ready.”

Leslie nodded and lay back down into the cushion. Soon, Ben was walking towards her in a pair of plaid pyjamas. He looked adorable, and Leslie just wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss his neck.

But she couldn’t. Not yet. They were slowly getting back on track. He still didn’t completely trust her. As he crawled under the covers next to her, he turned away from her, mumbling a goodnight as they fell asleep.

~~

On Friday, Leslie didn’t see Ben.

He texted her again saying that he had some things to do in the office and that he’d talk to her later. Leslie flopped down on the bed with a sigh. She’d hoped that Ben would come home early tonight because it was the weekend after all, and she was bored.

Leslie finished all of the work that she brought with her and tried calling April to brainstorm ideas, but she hung up on her. 

Instead, Leslie called Ann.

“I don’t know how it’s going. He keeps spending so much time at the office,” Leslie sighed into the phone.

“He’s probably busy. His job is pretty demanding,” Ann replied softly. “Don’t let it get you down; you have one more full day with him. Just make sure you leave a lasting impression so that he remembers you.”

“Yes, that’s it!” Leslie gasped. “I’ve always wanted someone to come and surprise me when I was working late with dinner. That’s what I should do for him.”

She said goodbye to Ann and hurried out to her car to go to the store before it closed.

About half an hour later, Leslie turned up at City Hall. It was empty, so she made her way up to the fifth floor and found Ben’s makeshift office. It wasn’t much, a small section of space just outside of the City Manager’s office. It was a bit like where he was when he was in Pawnee.

Ben was at his desk, one hand buried in his hair and the other writing something down on the pad in front of him. He looked up, sensing he wasn’t alone and smiled at Leslie.

“Hi. What are you doing here?” he asked, placing the pen down and stretching his arms back.

“I thought you might want some company,” Leslie explained. She set a plastic bag down and pulled out a bottle of white wine and takeout waffles from the place Ben recommended on her first day here. “They aren’t JJ’s, but they’ll do,” Leslie said as she set them down in front of her. 

Ben smirked at her. He got up and grabbed two cups from the coffee machine and set them down, allowing Leslie to pour them two generous glasses of wine.

Soon, Leslie was helping spit ball ideas with Ben. It reminded her of when Ron made her the representative for the budget meetings and she spoke for hours, giving Ben and Chris ideas on where they could save money.

But, at every idea, Ben just seemed to deflate even more. Leslie set her cup down and leaned on the desk.

“You’re miserable doing this job,” Leslie told him. “I hate seeing you like this.”

“It’s fine,” Ben quickly replied. “It’s just… hard. That’s all. I’m the enemy here. It’s never my partner, always me. Everyone liked Chris because he was so handsome and positive. Everyone likes Rebecca because she’s beautiful. What have I got going for me? I’m just the bringer of bad news.”

“You’re so much more than that,” Leslie said, reaching over and placing her hand on top of his before she could stop herself. “You are smart and handsome. Sure, you didn’t start off in Pawnee as the most popular guy, but people warmed up to you. I really wish you took that City Manager job. I know your intentions were good and you had your reasons for why you didn’t take it…and I’m sorry for that, but I wish that you didn’t do it because of me. I wish that you thought of your career before me. We could have worked it out if we wanted to be with each other.”

Ben swallowed hard and looked up at Leslie, and she squeezed his hand tighter.

“I hate seeing you so down,” she said. “This, the smoking, the sulking. It’s not you.”

Ben nodded sadly. “I know.” He sighed and stood up from his desk. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

“What?”

“It’s a surprise. Just come have a look.”

Ben took Leslie’s hand and led her out of his office. They jumped into the elevator. It was a short ride up to the seventh floor. Once there, he led Leslie out and down the corridor. 

The automatic lights flickered on as they walked down, and soon Ben stopped. He gestured in front of him, and Leslie exhaled in surprise.

It was one of the most beautiful murals that she had ever seen. It most definitely rivalled the wildflowers back in Pawnee. It was a long dusty path, but with green leafy trees shadowing it. Sunlight poured through the branches and touched every inch of the mural. It was serene and calming.

“I know you really like the wildflower mural in Pawnee, but I like this one,” Ben said. “It just reminds me that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, and things will always work out. When I first got here, I found myself coming here a lot and just staring at it.”

It all was too much for Leslie. She could feel tears brimming in her eyes. She cared too much about Ben to let him suffer anymore on the road. She wanted him to be happy.

The cup of wine she was holding clattered to the floor, and Leslie put her hands on either side of Ben’s face, pulling him towards her and kissing him hard. Ben let out a surprised ‘mmph,’ but to Leslie’s relief, his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

It was everything Leslie had hoped for. The way Ben felt as he pushed against her, the way his hair felt as she tangled her hands into it. Everything about him made her want to shut away everything else and just stay here in this moment forever.

Ben growled into her mouth, and Leslie obeyed, allowing her mouth to be filled with his tongue. His hand trailed from her back to further down, squeezing her ass, and Leslie gripped onto the lapels of his jacket to keep steady.

They could have stayed there all night, in that small corner of Snerling’s City Hall, just basking in each other’s warmth and getting to know every inch of skin. But there was a thud from down the hall, and Ben pulled away quickly. Leslie stayed gripping onto his jacket and breathing heavily.

“The cleaners,” Ben sighed. “We should get out of here. Back to my place?”

Leslie couldn’t speak; Ben had truly taken every morsel of oxygen from her lungs. All she could manage was a nod.

Ben grinned and kissed her cheek one last time before taking her hand and leading her back down the corridor and out of City Hall.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! The final chapter!! 
> 
> Thank you so so so much for reading this story, and also for having an interest in it! I got lots of requests to finish it, so that really made me happy. (And sorry it took so long!)
> 
> A big thank you goes to my lovely betas Supervanillabear31 and BenjisCoolTimes.
> 
> Please, please don't forget to comment!

The drive back to Ben’s was agonizing.

Leslie wished that Ben would just put his foot down and speed through Snerling until they got back to his place. She wanted to scream at him to stop obeying all the traffic laws.

Then she remembered he hated cops, and, that as much as he wanted this, he was doing it to avoid an altercation.

Leslie looked at his hands gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. Wow. He was using everything in him right now to not give in to his desire.

Things were still a blur, from seeing the tree mural in Snerling City Hall, to suddenly kissing Ben, finally kissing Ben. It just didn’t seem real. Leslie had to keep pinching herself to remind her that she wasn’t dreaming.

Since arriving at Snerling, she didn’t realise how much she wanted Ben. She thought she’d be satisfied with a kiss and the promise of a first date, but, no, she needed more than that; she needed him.

All Leslie could do was turn in her seat and watch the trees and cows flash by. She started to count the cows. One, two, three… no. It was hopeless. Nothing could distract her from the aching between her thighs.

“We’re nearly there.”

Leslie jumped slightly and looked back up at Ben. He gave her a quick glance before looking back to the road.

“We’re nearly at my place. It won’t be long.”

Leslie breathed out a sigh of relief, and her head hit the back of the rest. “Thank God.”

She felt Ben squeeze her hand. “I know. Me too.”

~~

Ben parked in the lot under his building. Leslie quickly stumbled out of the car, almost shutting her jacket in the car door as she slammed it shut. She was so eager to get inside that she wasn’t paying attention.

Ben smirked at her as she composed herself. “It’s just one short elevator ride. Can you handle that?”

Leslie silently nodded, and Ben led her through into the apartment complex, past the concierge, and into the elevator.

He lived on the tenth floor. Ten painful floors it would take to get up there, and his elevator wasn’t exactly the fastest in the world.

Thankfully, Ben had other plans. As soon as the doors closed with a ding, he pounced on her, his lips pushing so hard against hers that Leslie was sure they would bruise instantly.

Hands danced along her skin and raked up the bottom of her shirt. Leslie could feel Ben’s fingers snake under her pants and toy with the waistband of her panties. A little manoeuvring and he was cupping her, right where she needed him.

She could’ve easily had him, right there in the small, sweltering elevator. But no, this was all just a tease, just so she could know how much Ben wanted her. He wanted her so badly that ten floors couldn’t stand between them.

The elevator dinged once they arrived at the tenth floor. Ben pulled his hand out quickly and stepped back. Thankfully, the floor was empty, so Ben took Leslie’s hand and pulled her out, hurrying to his apartment. 

Ben’s fingers trembled as he unlocked the door. With a push, the front door opened, and all he could do was look at Leslie, and she felt overwhelmed. It was almost like he was waiting for her to make the first move, to let him his hand in hers, carefully tracing his big hand against her tiny one. She intertwined his fingers against hers and led him inside.

It was the least she could do after unintentionally turning him down the first time around.

She was about to ask if he wanted another glass of wine to soothe his nerves, when he spun around, kicking the door closed with his foot and charging back towards her. His hands wove through her hair and cupped the back of her neck, and he brought her towards him.

Leslie pulled at his shirt, the fabric feeling cool against her fingers, am exact contrast to what she wanted. She wanted his shirt off, wanted to feel the warmth radiating off his chest.

She began to unbutton his shirt, nimble fingers working to undo them in a flash. She could feel Ben smiling down at her.

“Impatient, are we?” he grinned.

Leslie’s eyes flickered back up in his direction. “I’ve wanted this for so long. If I hadn’t been so stupid before, then –”

“No,” Ben said, cupping her face in his large hands. “It’s ok. You don’t have to keep apologising. You’re here now.”

He took her hands in his, and, with his shirt flowing open at the top, he led her into his bedroom.

With a bounce, Leslie fell backwards on the bed, and Ben was crawling on top of her.

“I’ve wanted this for so long too,” he moaned as he bit her lower lip and tugged at it. Leslie began whimpering from underneath him.

He pulled his half-buttoned shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor. Leslie couldn’t help but look at his body all over. This was the first time she’d seen him shirtless, the first time she could see the Millennium Falcon on his lower side. He was just as she’d expected him to be, taut all over, but with small muscles bulging in his forearms and chest as he moved. There was a trail of hair going from the lower part of his torso down his stomach and under his boxers. Leslie wanted to see how far that line of hair went.

Her fingers reached out and traced the tattoo. “I really like this,” she said, letting her nails carefully scrape along the ink.

Ben grinned. “I’m glad. I like it too. Best drunk decision I ever made.” He leaned down, kissing her once again. “And this,” he said, running his hand down her side, “Is the best sober decision I ever made.”

Leslie cackled, and Ben couldn’t help but smile along with her. More clothes were discarded, and soon, Leslie and Ben where just in their underwear, staring at each other.

Her breath hitched as he hooked his thumbs around her panties. He cupped her face in his hand. “Are you ok?”

Leslie nodded, giving him silent permission to continue. He breathed out slowly as he lowered her underwear and swallowed hard at the sight in front of him.

“Jesus,” he mumbled. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.”

He reached up, unhooking her bra and tossing it aside. He palmed her breasts a few times before lowering back down. 

“You were mad at when I came here,” Leslie reminded him.

Ben shook his head. “No, I was mad at the situation. I was doing everything in my control not to just bend you over my kitchen counter and have you there and then. But we left things so weirdly that I didn’t know what to do.” He grinned. “Maybe if you didn’t surprise me and instead, given me some notice, it could’ve gone that way.”

Leslie breathed out. “What would you have done with me over the counter?”

Ben licked the inside of her thigh. “I would’ve gotten down on my knees and done this.”

He finished by pressing his lips to her centre and licking her wetly. Leslie moaned, and her back arched up from the bed. Ben just gripped her thighs harder, keeping her down and grounded. He was moaning himself as he felt Leslie squirm against him.

Leslie clawed at his bedsheets, pulling them off from around the mattress as Ben continued to lap at her, and, when he pressed a finger inside of her, she screamed loudly. 

Her legs trembled as she felt herself get close to coming against him. She wanted to warn him, but words failed her. Instead, a stream of moans and curses laced with Ben’s name fell out of her mouth.

She flopped back into the pillows with a satisfied sigh. Ben sat up, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, smirking at her.

No, that wasn’t a smirk. That was a proud, smug look. He was clearly happy with his work.

“You never fail to surprise me,” Leslie murmured, and Ben crawled back up to her, playfully pinching a nipple.

“Yeah? You didn’t think that I’d be good at that?”

Leslie paused for a moment. “I didn’t know what to expect. But it was good, very good.”

Insanely good. In fact, no man had ever made her feel like that before. When most men ate her out, they would just do it for a bit and hope for the best. Ben went down with a goal and wasn’t going to come up until it was finished.

She wouldn’t tell him that though; he was already gloating enough, and she didn’t want to make his ego too big.

“You’ve got me all curious,” Leslie chose to say instead. “I want to find out what you’ll do next.”

Ben grinned slyly at her and sat back up. In a flash, his boxers were off and on the floor next to her bra and panties. Leslie took a sharp intake of breath as she looked at him.

Ben Wyatt was in front of her, completely naked and looking handsome as hell. He kneeled in front of her, and Leslie could marvel in the sight of his cock. It was hard, long and thick, and a velvety red colour. It looked inviting. 

Before Ben could react, she leaned down and wrapped her lips around him. Ben gasped out, resting his hand behind her head and giving Leslie breathy commands. She listened, submissive to his words.

She looked up at him. He was watching her, eyes dark and pupils dilated. She watched as his head lolled back when she took him as far into her mouth as she could.

“God, Leslie,” he breathed out. He tugged on the strands of hair he had gripped in his hands, and Leslie eased up. She let go of Ben with a pop and grinned cheekily up at him.

With a swift move of his hand, Leslie was pushed back down onto the bed. He looked around for a moment. Leslie could tell what he needed, just from the questioning look on his face.

“I’m on the pill,” she quickly said, and Ben looked back at her and smirked.

“Yeah?”

Leslie nodded in confirmation, and Ben sighed in relief.

“Thank God, because I wasn’t sure if I had any condoms. You don’t really think of those kinds of things when you’re constantly on the move.”

Leslie’s heart contorted in sadness. She couldn’t imagine living his life, always moving around and never being able to settle in one spot. 

But, before she could really descend into depressing thoughts, Ben had pushed into her, and she hissed as her body stretched to fit him. 

Ok, she’d think about Ben being lonely later.

Leslie couldn’t decide where she wanted to hold on to as Ben thrust into her. She started with his hair, hands tangled in his thick locks, but, soon, they trailed down, nails scratching down his back and finally resting on his butt, feelings the muscles tighten as he moved.

It was when she felt his hand slide between them and rest on her clit that her body bucked into his. Ben’s lips were attached to her neck and moaning into her skin as she whimpered against him, a raging heat taking over her body.

They probably pissed off Ben’s neighbours, but, as they both came, she didn’t care. They’d just have to deal with it for the moment, because, right now, she was in heaven.

~~

Leslie wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but she woke up curled up against Ben’s chest. She ran a hand against the bare skin and looked up at him, surprised to see that he was laying there, hands tucked behind his head and eyes wide open.

“Can’t sleep?” she asked, scooting up so he could look at her.

“Nope,” Ben mumbled back. “My brain’s kind of in overdrive right now.”

Leslie smiled sadly. “I’ve been there. Do you need a cigarette?”

Ben paused and sighed. “Kind of.”

Leslie slowly sat up, wrapping a sheet around her. She got up and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his underwear drawer. She saw him put them there the other night and assumed he kept them there so as not to be tempted.

Ben thanked her as she handed him the pack and a lighter. He got up and pulled on his boxers and a shirt. “I don’t want to get smoke stink on the sheets,” he explained and gestured out to the balcony in the living room.

Leslie followed him outside. It was still warm despite the sun setting hours again. Ben lit up the cigarette and took a long drag, and Leslie watched as the smoke seeped back out through his mouth and into the air.

“What are you thinking about?” Leslie asked, leaning on the railings next to him.

Ben shrugged. “Earlier, now, everything. I don’t know. Doing that has kind of thrown a spanner in the works.”

“Yeah?” Leslie asked, a little saddened. She kind of hoped that he’d drop everything and move back to Pawnee, but things weren’t going to be that easy.

“Do you want to come back to Pawnee?” she asked.

Ben took another drag. “Yes. But… I’ve made a commitment to this town. I can’t just leave them while they’re in a middle of a financial crisis. You know that, right?”

Leslie nodded sadly. “Yeah, I kind of figured.”

“I’ve got to lead them through this. If I just up and leave, then they’ll probably be bankrupt in a few months, and then somehow I’ll still get the blame. I have to finish what I started, then I can look to coming back.”

Leslie was torn. One part of her felt nothing but admiration for Ben. He wanted to help get this town out of a money crisis and had morals, but the other just wanted him to say screw it and leave with her on Sunday.

She couldn’t be selfish. She saw what amazing work Ben had done to Pawnee. She couldn’t take that away from Snerling, a town that would probably help them out if they needed it.

Snerling wasn’t like Eagleton. 

Leslie rested her head on his shoulder. “How long do you think it’ll be?”

Ben sighed again. “I don’t know. A month. Maybe longer? It’s hard to put a timeframe on these things.” He rubbed her chin with his free hand. “But I’ll keep you updated. I want to come back, you know that? And I’m going to do all I can to make it happen as soon as possible.”

Leslie nodded into him, feeling tears sting in her eyes. “I know you will,” she replied.

They stayed outside even after Ben finished his cigarette, just wanting to spend as much time together as possible.

~~

Sunday arrived far too quickly, and, soon, it was time for Leslie to drive back home to Pawnee. Ben helped load her car with her suitcase and souvenirs to take back to her friends. She could only find things with cows on them. Snerling really liked cows.

“Oh, before I forget, I have something for you,” Ben said, as he pulled out a small, wrapped package from behind his back and handed it to Leslie. 

She ripped it open eagerly and laughed when she saw the contents. It was a small china cow clutching a giant heart.

“It’s to remember me by,” Ben said. “You know, until I get back.”

Leslie clutched it to her chest. “I love it. Thank you.”

She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes again. Goodbyes sucked, especially when she didn’t know when she was going to see him again.

Leslie carefully put the cow ornament back into the box and placed it on her car seat. Then, she pulled Ben into her arms, clutching at his shirt and refusing to let go. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“It’s ok. I’ll come back; I promise,” Ben reminded her.

“Yeah, but when?” Leslie mumbled. “I don’t like the uncertainty.”

“Neither do I,” Ben said. “But we’ll talk all the time, and maybe if we have a spare weekend, I could visit you, or you could visit me again?”

Leslie nodded and pulled away. “I’d like that.”

She looked at her watch and sighed. “I should go. It’s a long drive back.”

Ben nodded sadly. “I know.”

He ran his hand along her jawline and brought her lips closer to his, kissing her hard. Leslie knew he was trying to give her a lasting reminder that he cared, and that all was well between them.

But it wasn’t. They should be going back together, not apart.

Ben opened the car door for her, and Leslie slid into the front seat. There was one last kiss through the open window, and Ben rested his nose against hers.

“Call me when you get home,” he told her, and Leslie nodded.

“Of course.”

He stepped back, and she started up the car and slowly pulled out of the parking lot.

She cried on the way home. Listening to ‘I Will Remember You’ by Sarah McLachlan didn’t help.

~~

It had been a month since Leslie drove to Snerling and finally made things up with Ben and a month since she last saw him.

Work had really heated up, and Leslie found herself drowning in it, and Ben was still working hard with trying to get Snerling out of their budget crisis.

They spoke most days - on the phone or over Skype. But it wasn’t the same. Leslie longed for him. That short week they had together had given her a taste of what would happen when he came back; she was just fed up of waiting.

Things didn’t look good. Just a few nights ago, they had Skyped, and Ben’s head was in his hands as he told her about his day. He looked so unbelievably stressed as he told her that it would probably be another month of living in Snerling. 

Then, one day, she was replying to an email on her computer, when she heard a commotion come from outside her office.

She looked up just in time to see Andy skid into her office. “Leslie! It’s terrible. There’s a really important problem that needs your help. Chris needs you to come to his office right now!”

Leslie jumped up, assuming the worst. “What is it? Is it Ron? Is it Mayor Gunderson? Is it Mayor Gunderson’s dog?”

Andy just eagerly beckoned her out of the room. “Just come on. It’s too horrible to say.”

Leslie ran towards Chris’s office, expecting to see blood and torn paperwork all over the floor. But instead, Chris was smiling at her.

“Here she is,” Chris said, still beaming at her.

“Yeah, here I am. What’s going on? What’s the-”

She trailed off when she saw someone get up from around the corner. Her heart stopped briefly as her eyes met with the same brownie ones she’d been longing to see for weeks.

Ben was here, standing in front of her.

“So it’s over,” he said with a shrug and a grin on his face that Leslie wanted to kiss off.

Leslie was lost for words. “But…but you said…”

“I know. I lied,” Ben said, referring to what he told her two days ago. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. I just wanted to surprise you.”

Leslie’s eyes welled with tears, and she smacked Ben on the arm. “You jerk!”

Ben flinched and clutched his arm. “Ow! What was that fo-”

He didn’t finish, as Leslie had jumped at him, grabbing his face and kissing him hard. Chris behind them, awkwardly excused himself, giving them the space they needed.

Leslie pulled away, rubbing the spot on his arm where she’d hit him. “I’m sorry, but you’re here. You’re actually here. What happened?”

“The government opened,” Ben explained. “And that was it. Rebecca is still there tying up loose ends, but I resigned as soon as I could. I have to go back and pack up my apartment, but I’ve signed a lease on a place here. I’ll be living here again before we know it.”

“What about work?” Leslie asked.

Ben sighed. “I don’t know yet. I’m sure something will come to me, but right now I guess I’ll just explore the field a little.” He tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. “But I don’t mind. As long as we can finally be together, with no rules and no worries about one of us getting fired. That was the main thing, right?”

Leslie eagerly nodded. “Yes, yes that’s exactly what we wanted.”

Ben grinned at her, lacing his fingers against hers. “What about lunch? Last time I was here, someone took me to this great little diner. Is it still around?”

Leslie just beamed at him. “Of course.”

“Great. First round of waffles are on me.”

They left Chris’s office, still hand in hand.

~~

Leslie was glad Ben was here.

Not too long after he moved back, there was a tragic incident in Pawnee. Lil Sebastian had passed, and suddenly the town was in mourning. She was happy to have Ben’s shoulder to cry on, and he was strong during the memorial service. They kissed behind the stage, only to be interrupted by a maintenance worker, who called them lovebirds. They both blushed, and Ben just squeezed her hand, letting her go back to work.

He had a couple of job offers, and it looked like he was going to take one at an accounting firm. But, as Leslie raced around, organising everything for the memorial, she kept catching Ben’s eyes, and he looked miserable, just staying out of the way and watching Leslie do all the hard work and mingle with government officials. 

Leslie couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He had paid the ultimate sacrifice and she wanted to make it up to him.

That chance came sooner than expected.

Ben perked up a little when they arrived back at the Parks Department, and he had a beer in his hands. She watched as he chatted to Ron and Jerry, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around to see a man and a woman, both smartly dressed, looking back at her.

“Excuse me, are you Leslie Knope?”

Leslie nodded, and the man grinned.

“My name is William Barnes. Do you have a minute to talk?”

William and the woman, who she learned was called Elizabeth, led her through to one of the empty conference rooms. 

“We’re part of a group that tries to identify potential candidates to run for office, and we have good reason to think that you would be a great candidate to run for City Council,” William explained.

Leslie’s eyes widened. Her? On City Council? That was something that she had dreamed about for a really long time.

She was about to answer, to say that she’d love to run, when an idea popped into her head. A really brilliant idea.

“I’d… really love to run, but you see, I was already planning to. My boyfriend ran his own campaign when he was eighteen, you see, so he’s pretty good at this stuff,” Leslie explained.

She stood up, and William and Elizabeth looked at her with wide eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” Leslie said, as she walked back out of the room, her legs shaking.

Yes, she should have probably taken the advice of two campaign managers that knew what they were doing, but, like Ben, she was making a sacrifice.

She walked back over to Ben and tapped him on the shoulder, Ben turned around and lowered his beer.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Leslie took a deep breath. “So, I was just approached to run for City Council.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “What? That’s amazing! Are you gonna go for it?”

“Yeah, I will,” Leslie said. “But I turned them down. I think I have a better chance with having someone like you run my campaign.”

Ben blinked. “You… you think I could do this?”

Leslie nodded. “Don’t take that accounting job. It won’t make you happy. Come work for me; come be my campaign manager?”

All Ben could do was smile confidently, and that was the only answer Leslie needed.

_The End._


End file.
